Though I once promised an Irish waitress that I'd never compete in a chili cook-off, I've decided to officially break my oath. I am in the running for the top prize at the 2009 Time Out Chicago's Chili Cook-off at Martyr's ( 3855 N Lincoln Ave ). It's all happening this Saturday, Janurary 24th from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
This is my first competition, and in typical Paupered Chef fash...
You know the burger obsession is going off the deep end when semi-serious discussion takes place over the burger making skills of a cartoon . Please stick with me. This cartoon happened feature J. Wellington Wimpy, the burger-loving sidekick of Popeye. Hamburger America author George Motz found this clip and was there to comment on Wimpy's burger making skills: "Notice how even in...
It's similar in appearance and texture, and has that unmistakable salty tang of cured meat. I'm surprised it never occurred to me before, but the idea is simple. Pork tenderloin, which is already in a convenient salami-like shape perfect for slicing, makes a perfect dry-curing project.
There is already one traditional cured meat called Lonzino , Italian, which is made not from the ten...
Once I figured out how to make fresh pasta , I waited all of 12 hours before I set out to create my own Ragù alla Bolognese. It was a goal of mine ever since watching an episode of Heston Blumenthal's TV series In Search of Perfection . The premise of the show is for the acclaimed chef to reexamine some stodgy British classics by going back to the roots of the original dish. His f...
Well, just look at that! After all my anxiety and the lack of sausage stuffer before I started this adventure , on the third day I ate hot dogs. They looked like hot dogs, smelled like hot dogs, and tasted like that perfect hot dog you always dream about (well, at least I dream about hot dogs). Unbelievably beefy and with a hard snap from the sheep intestine, this was a truly wonderfu...
(Scene at the Paulina Meat Market in Chicago)
Butcher: "Number 37!"
Me: "Yeah, that's me."
Butcher: "What can I get for you?"
Me: "Yeah, I'll take 10 feet of sheep casings."
I don't say that often enough in life, and up until this Saturday it had never crossed my mind. But here I was at Paulina Meat Market ordering sheep intestines from butchers that make their own fine...
At first everything was fine. Taking a cue from Adam Kuban , we decided to make our own onion rings instead of the normal burger pairing of fries. The recipe was taken from Simply Recipes , which soaked the onions in buttermilk and coated them in flour and cornmeal.
We fried them in canola oil set to 350 degrees for a few minutes, until nice and golden brown. We stashed them i...
Before I start detailing this ridiculous project, I’d like to point out that I fail in the end. There is no great yogurt recipe hidden in here, no surprising technique that changes everything. I tried some methods, some reasonable and some quite stupid, and none of them worked. I just want to make some respectable yogurt at home, and I’m hoping some of you can help.
I thought this would...
“American cheese (processed cheese)”
-Wylie Dufresne, describing the type of cheese he likes on his burger
I haven’t exactly made my peace with American cheese . I still don’t like it cubed, melted in grilled cheese, or laid across a deli sandwich. I’m not that into reliving my childhood and, really, actual cheese always tastes better. I thought that was the end of it...
Grinding meat may seem like an exercise for those with too much time on their hands, or those overly devoted to doing things from scratch--which I am. But I'm here to argue that there are more compelling and more logical reasons for doing so: for one, the meat will taste better. You'll also know where it omes from, unlike with a styrofoam tray from the grocery store, which is likely the su...